Are Mayan artifacts illegal?

It is against the laws of Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala to take any pre-Columbian antiquities out of their country. It is against the law of the United States to bring most pre-Columbian art into this country. Maya pottery from the Peten area is especially illegal.



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The ruins of Chichén Itzá are federal property, and the site's stewardship is maintained by Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History). The land under the monuments had been privately owned until 29 March 2010, when it was purchased by the state of Yucatán.

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The Aztecs were Nahuatl-speaking people who lived in central Mexico in the 14th to 16th centuries. Their tribute empire spread throughout Mesoamerica. The Maya people lived in southern Mexico and northern Central America — a wide territory that includes the entire Yucatán Peninsula — from as early as 2600 BC.

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